Freeney's record has since been broken. He's barely in the top 10. Oliver isn't in the top 10. And Bliss is way down the list at number 40.

A player has rushed for over 2,000 yards THIRTY SEVEN TIMES over the last 16 seasons.

It ain't easy tracking the sport's significant statistical marks anymore as they're being set at a frenetic pace. It's like trying to watch a J.J. Abrams' flick with all the once-a-second camera jumps.

Check it — this past season, five players ran for over 2,000 and two quarterbacks passed the 3,000-yard mark.

It's not too hard to figure out why players are accumulating chunkier stats. A 10-game season used to be the norm, provided a team didn't make states, or wasn't one of those magical calendar years that allows an extra week of football.

The CIAC added a semifinal round to the playoffs in 1996. A team could play 12 times in a season — an 11-game regular season schedule, plus two playoff games.

A quarterfinal round was added three seasons ago.

More games. More carries. More pass attempts.

Back in 2000, folks marveled that Tim Washington ran for a then record 3,005 yards in 10 games.

Ansonia has had THREE players rush for over 3,000 yards the last six seasons. All three did so in a season with 13-or-more games.

The offensive nature of the game has led to gaudier numbers, too. Everyone here at Polecat HQ blames the spread offense and increasing emphasis on the forward pass.

Southington had a quarterback throw for over 3,000 yards from 1999-2001. It was the first program to ever break that mark because then-coach Jude Kelly and offensive coordinator Frank Stamilio were ahead of the passing curve, utilizing a no-huddle, run-and-shoot offense. The Blue Knights were chucking while most everyone else was running.

Eleven quarterbacks have thrown for over 3,000 since 2005. Casey Cochran did it twice. And 11 of those seasons have occurred since 2008.

The score management rule has even played a role in things. Team A takes a commanding lead early and yanks its starters so as not to beat Team B by more than 50 points. Team B keeps its starters in and carves up Team A's second-string.

We're not trying to diminish what players have done lately. It may have gotten easier to accumulate greater stats, but the sport hasn't gotten any easier. The extra games mean more practice and more wear-and-tear, too.

The statistical accomplishments just don't resonate like they used to, though, because the bar keeps getting jacked up every season. Three-thousand yards passing has become the new 2,000.

Perhaps it's better to use a player's average yardage to put their statistical marks in better context. Example — Ansonia's Arkeel Newsome ran for a state-record 3,763 yards in 2011. He did so playing 14 games.

Fourteen games gave Newsome an extra game to add to his numbers, but he averaged 269 yards. Many teams don't have that kind of average.

Yeah, in the grand scheme of things, the statistical ballooning doesn't mean much. Chances are that, 20 years from now, only the diehards and those who attend Ansonia will remember Newsome's magical season. And his most impressive statistics that season were 14-0 (the Chargers' record) and 17 (as in Ansonia's record number of CIAC titles).

We do wonder about Bob Barton and Gerry deSimas Jr. though, the duo responsible for putting together the Record Book. Barton diligently pours over papers at the state library and asks schools for their record books. DeSimas produces the product. They do so without seeking for funding or acclaim.

■ There were two 3,000-yard passers — Tanner Kingsley of Woodland of Beacon Falls (3,227, 12 games) and North Branford's Brandan Basil (3,191, 13). They're sixth and seventh, respectively, for most passing yards in a season.

Kingsley also passed for a state-record 51 touchdowns.

Cromwell's Anthony Morales threw for a state-record 3,688 yards and 43 touchdowns last season. He did so throwing a relatively-low 260 times for a Peyton-esque 14.2 yards per attempt.

(Note that the Panthers' ran a pretty balanced offense as Villard ran 244 times for 2,125 yards last season, so the two almost balanced the other out. They also made Cromwell the first team in state history with a 2,000-yard rusher and 3,000-yard passer.)

■ Ansonia tied a state-record for most points in a season (695). The 1999 Fitch team scored that many in 12 games.

Bruno helped transform his alma mater into a major player. The Bulldogs went 94-36-1 over 12 seasons, had four playoff appearances and won the program's first CIAC state titles (2006 and 2007).

The affable Bruno may be the state's most unorthodox coach, and his teams were never boring. The Bulldogs squibbed on kickoffs because a study said a team is likely to recover the ball more than half of the time. He'll go for it on fourth-and-short just about anywhere on the field. And there's no offensive play he won't try (think Boise State coach Chris Peterson after chugging two liters of Mountain Dew).

Everyone here at Polecat HQ can hardly wait for next Thanksgiving's Ansonia vs. Naugatuck game as it'll match Bruno up against one of his BFF's, Chargers head coach Tom Brockett.

Bunnell joins the ludicrously long list of programs that need a new head coach. Those NINETEEN....